SanjayGolf

I'm currently interested in an IS 350 and I've happened upon an '08 with 45k miles being sold at a Lexus dealership but it's not CPO. Checking the carfax it shows it had an accident back in 2009 but it was later sold and then CPO'ed in 2011, which makes me believe the accident wasnt that bad. The 2nd owner seemed to take it in regularly for servicing and the carfax only shows the 2013 VVT recall as a minus but I assumed it was taken care of and they averaged 12.5k/yr. But the car is not CPO now which makes me question why. Should I be interested in the car or is it better to pay more and get CPO?

idoke1

iTrader: (5)

Honesty, when I bought my is350 @ 15k miles, it wasn't cpo either. So far, 155k miles problem free. Its up to you. I would get cpo on the is250 though due to carbin buildup but the is350 seems to be less problematic. It would be good piece of mind getting a cpo.

SanjayGolf

I'm definitely more interested in the 350 as the 250 is so slow. I'm split between two cars: 2010 CPO 66k miles, clean carfax and a 2008 non-CPO 45k miles, with the accident report. Basically same options except the 2010 has spoiler, tint, and i think upgraded wheels. Both have nav, etc. but the price difference is $3k. Is it better to go with the cheaper option, especially since there's a better chance to get the price lower? The dealer wasn't really budging on the price for the CPO. Or pay more for the piece of mind of CPO?

Mike_1GO

iTrader: (2)

accident? no big deal really as long as the air bags didn't deploy you should be good

nosurprise

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't mind getting a non-CPO Lexus as long as it's been inspected. It's a tricky choice for you because of the higher mileage car is actually more expensive. The main thing to concern about with 2008 is the dash. If you can check the dash is OK, I would go with 2008. 2010 you do get a slightly newer styling with the lights and Nav.

Lexus only does CPO for cars less than 6 years and 70,000 miles, so if it doesn't meet those criteria, it doesn't matter what condition the car is in.

SanjayGolf

Should the fact that the non-CPO car is still being sold by a Lexus dealer give me some relief? I mean, they're not gonna sell a car that's not at least in "Good" condition, right? I'm going to check it out today. The dealership has been pretty weird with the car so far though---they still haven't put up pics of it online and they've had it for nearly two weeks now.

Also, I now see that a Toyota dealership in the same city has an 09 with 57k for $1k more which makes me think I can bargain with either of them. The CPO car and 08 car are both owned by Autonation but at different locations

magnuscat

Are they listing it is a transferable CPO from the former owner? Or is it some sort of inter dealership CPO. Some dealers like to sell what they call their own CPO. You need to verify. I wouldn't want to be in a situation where I had to take it back to that dealership for work.

And if it is a transferable warranty, you should fin out how much time/mileage is left on it.

SanjayGolf

It was Certified when it was sold back in 2011. But after it was traded in this year and put up for sale it lost the certified designation.

mandyfig

Looks like a good deal. Go for it.

jsh139

I personally wouldn't buy a used car that had been in an accident unless:

1. The price clearly reflected the fact that it was in an accident.
2. A printout of what was repaired/replaced was provided or a thorough inspection was done by a body shop to see exactly what was done.

Not only does the accident reduce the value of the car, but any warrantable failure that could be traced back to the accident will not be covered by the policy. Just food for thought.

SanjayGolf

So I was able to look at it today. The salesman also showed me their full servicing report. I don't think the accident is a problem because the 1st owner was the one that got in the accident, then sold it to Lexus, who then certified it. The 2nd owner apparently then had a lot of audio equipment and wires, radar detector, etc installed, which Lexus then had to remove. The notes showed they were on the fence on whether to put the money into remove it or just send it in to auction. They put the money into it to remove the wires but in doing it made unfeasible to CPO it. They are asking $23k for it but my friend saw in the report that they were looking for $19k.

I then went over to a Toyota dealership that just got in an 09 with 57k, navi, backup cam, heated/cooled seats, etc. It has a clean carfax, one owner. They actually agreed to take my 2001 IS 300 for $4k (Autonation Lexus was only offering $1500) for an out the door price of $22k. This dealership was way better than Lexus btw and much more willing to work on the price.

Is it worth it to get an extended warranty? That might put my over budget on the 2009 whereas I feel like I can talk down the price on the 2008 and then sell my car privately and get $4k. If it's not worth it I might just stick with 2009 bc it's newer and less hassle.

kickin8

iTrader: (1)

IMHO: I would wait for another CPO that has no accidents....

SanjayGolf

So is CPO the only way to go?

kickin8

iTrader: (1)

if you want the peace of mind....

runnerlk

I just bought a 2012 350C and insisted that the dealer certify it. According to the dealer the cost to them was1000. To me the piece of mind was worth it.